Oscillating fan.



. I PATENTED JULY 14, 1908. R. P. THOMPSON. I

OSGILLATING FAN. APPLICATION FILED DEU.5,1907. 4SHBETSSHEET 1.

;No. 893.034. PATBNTED JULY 14,14 1908.

4 11,1. THOMPSON. OSGILLATING FAN.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 5, 1907.

Y 4 11.3. THOMPSON.

OSGILLATING FAN.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.fi,1907.

WITNESSES.-

-IN VEN TOR.

PATENTED JULY 14, 1908.

4 SHEBTSSHEET 3.

No.893,034. I I PATENTBD JULY 14, 1908.

' R. P. THOMPSON.

OSGILLATING PAN. APPLICATION FILED DEC.5,1907;

4SHEETS-SHEET 4- I O F O O 0' O O D wNEss S: Q I INVENTOR.

PATENT ornron RALPH P. THOMPSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

OSCILLATING FAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 14, 1908.

Application filed December 5, 1907. Serial No. 405,153.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH P. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, county of Clark, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oscillating Fans, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to that class of electric fan motors, wherein the motor body is mounted upon a pivot, or bearing, and upon which it may oscillate from side to side, for the purpose of projecting the air current in different directions, and wherein this oscillating movement-is accomplished by interposing in the path of the air current, a deflector, the reaction upon which causes the motor to oscillate upon its bearing.

At present, in the art of fan building, there are three distinct principles upon which oscillating fans are built; the first wherein the power for turning the body on its vertical bearing is transmitted from the armature shaft direct by means of a worm and worm wheel, or other reducing mechanism. In this type, the high speed of the reducing mechanism causes a wearing of the parts that necessarily shortens the life of the fan. In another type of fan, the air current that is projected from the fan blades, is unbalanced by the interposition in its path of a movable vane that entirely obstructs a portion of the air current, and renders it useless for cooling purposes. In this type, the movement of the fan body on its vertical bearing is occasioned by the reaction of the air upon the fan blade on the side opposite to the vane. The reaction upon that part of the fan blade that is back of the vane, is balanced by the action on the vane, and the energy required to impel this portion of the air current is wasted. In another type of oscillating fan, a deflector is set in the path of the air current; the said deflector being mounted upon a support attached to the motor body. The reaction upon this deflector of the deflected air projected upon it from the fan blades, causes the fan body to turn upon its bearing. In prior inventions, the deflector has been set in the midst of the air current, and thus by deflecting a part of the air current to one side, the shaft of air is split up, and cross currents set up that destroy, to a certain extent, the carrying power ofthe fan, and thereby impairs its efficiency as a cooling device.

The object of my invention is to provide in an oscillating fan a deflector of such a shape that it will tend to concentrate the air current, rather than to scatter or dissipate it, and at the same time have it provide ample power to oscillate the fan with the minimum loss of force to the air current. I accomplish this by preferably making the deflector scoop shaped, or in the form of a section of a hollow cone or funnel. The deflector with its converging side just within the radius of the air current, is attached to an arm that has a bearing that lines with the axis of the armature shaft. The deflector midway of its length, is attached to the outer end of this arm. The arm is stopped in a horizontal position pointing in either direction, thus adjusting the deflector to turn the air current bodily either to the right or left, the reaction of the deflected air in each instance causing the fan to oscillate, reversing the movement as the deflector is shifted from side to side. The deflector could also be made flat with its face inclined to the air current, but if so made the current would be distorted to a greater extent than with the preferred form.

Following is a description of my invention, reference bein had to -the accompanying drawings, whic form a part of this specification, and in which like parts are designated by the same characters.

Figure 1 is a front view of the fan with the motor body midway of its travel. Fig. 2 is a side view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

The body A is mounted upon anti-friction bearin 5 having a vertical axis. In the form s own, these bearings are contained in the neck of the base of the fan. A spindle fixed in the bottom of the motor body and adapted to turn in these bearings, constitutes the supporting member between the base and motor body. The deflector D, with its supportingarm a, are attached to the fan guar F by means of a pivot Any suitable structural support attached to the motor body may be used in which the ivot 19 should be set practically in line wit the motor shaft. The arm a has a free bearing on the pivot p, and extending beyond this bearing the arm 0. forms a short lever L. The connecting rod R is connected at its one end to the lever L, and at its other end it is connected to the lever L L, which in turn has a bearin at p. The bearing p and p p are paralle an in a plane With each other, and are formed on the same structural support.

From the bearing p p a projection on the lever L L extends downwards and forms a striker s. As the fan body oscillates from side to side, this striker 8 comes in contact with the spring stops on the base of the fan shown at t and t.

The operation of the fan is as follows: When the current is turned on and the fan attains speed, the air current, as it is projected forward from the fan blades, is deflected by the deflector D, and the reaction of the deflected. air current is of suificient force to turn the body on its pivotal bearing. The travel of this fan is controlled by the position of the stops t and t. As the striker 8 comes in contact with one of these stops, the momentum of the body is sufficient to rock the striker s on the bearing p 2) until the lever L L imparts through the connecting rod R, a shar downward movement to the lever L. The fever L and arm a constitute one piece, and as the lever L moves downwards, the deflector is swung upwards and continues of its own momentum until it rests, with the arm a in a horizontal position, on the opposite side of the center. The air current is immediately deflected in the opposite direction, and the motion of the fan reversed thereby. The oscillating movement of the fan will thus continue automatically, after it is once established.

Figs. 3 and 4 show another form of my invention in which the deflector is inclined towards the axis of rotation of the blades in the opposite direction from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This arrangement of deflector causes the fan to oscillate in the opposite direction. Thus in Fig. 4 the striker s is approaching the stop t. In all other res ects the movement of the fan is identical wit the preferred form shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

A variety of devices may be used to shift the position of the deflector from side to side, and, therefore, I do not confine myself to the specific form of shifting device shown. What I claim as new, and upon Which I desire to secure Letters Patent, is the deflector with its inclined side, always presented to the air current, for the purpose of not only obtaining suflicient energy from the reaction of the de fleeted air current to turn the fan body, but also at the same time to distort, or obstruct, the air current to the least possible degree.

Claims: 1. The combination in an oscillating fan wherein the fan body is provided with a vertical bearing upon which it may turn from side to side, of an inclined deflector attached to a movable arm mounted upon a ournal placed in axial line with the blade shaft, a support for said journal and arm, the said support being rigidly attached to the said fan body, the said arm retaining the deflector with its inclination towards the axis of rotation of the blades, and within the radius thereof, an extension of the arm opposite the deflector to which is attached a connecting rod, the said connecting rod attached at its lower end to a rocker arm, the said connecting rod thereby maintaining the deflector in operative position, the said rocker arm having a downwardly projecting striker, and stops upon a stationary part of the fan upon which the striker comes in contact, thereby shifting the deflector to first one side and then the opposite side of a vertical plane in. which the axis of the blade shaft lies.

2. The combination in an electric fan wherein the fan body provided. with a vertical bearing upon which it may turn from side to side, of a movable deflector with a fixed inclination, a shifting device for said deflector carried upon a structural support attached to said fan body, the said deflector located in front of, and within the radius of, the fan blades, and inclined towards the axis of rotation of said fan blades, and stops upon the stationary part of the fan which act upon the shifting mechanism thereby shifting the deflector from side to side of a vertical plane central of the fan.

3. The combination in an oscillating fan, of a pivotally mounted fan body, with a support rigidly attached to said fan body and holding a deflector in front of, and within the radius of, the fan blades, said deflector having an inclination towards the axis of rotation of said fan blades, and a stop operated shifting mechanism, said shifting mechanism adapted to move the deflector into alterinite operative positions, first on one side and then the opposite, of a vertical plane common to the axial line of the blade shaft, and stops upon the stationary part of the fan for operating said shifting mechanism.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 3rd day of December, A. l).

- RALPH P. THOMPSON. Witnesses:

TV. H. GRIFFITH, JESSIE BRENNER. 

